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Monday, April 12, 2010

Bean Sprout Salad

I lived in Wuerzburg, Germany for almost three years back in the late 1990's (my first husband was in the Army). There was a Chinese restaurant in town that we loved to go to. Well, I loved to go there. We ate there a lot because it was one of the only things I wanted while I was pregnant with my first baby, so I think there was a point when he was really sick of it. But I loved it. The food was good and the people very nice, but I think it had more to do with being familiar to me in a place that was very unfamiliar.

The restaurant served a bean sprout salad. I don't remember eating it, but it was one of his favorite dishes. I've thought of it often over the years, and decided to try to make something similar. My first few tries were lackluster, at best. Then I came across a recipe from Rena Gray that she had posted on her blog. She, too, loved bean sprout salad, and tried recipe after recipe trying to find the perfect dressing. She ended up combining a couple different recipes to get the right combination of flavors. I was thrilled! I like to experiment, but why do it if someone has already figured it out?

I don't know if this is close to the bean sprout salad my Wuerzburg Chinese restaurant served, but it is so delicious and full of flavor. I recently served this with Grilled Sweet & Sour Salmon and it was a perfect accompaniment. Thanks, Rena!

Note: Rena encourages you to experiment with the amounts of vinegar and soy sauce. I did decrease the vinegar a bit because I'm a little vinegar-sensitive ;)